One Man's Curse
by Nefereu
Summary: It's nearly Halloween and one former resident returns to the tunnels far different than when he left after an chance encounter with a certain Toronto police detective. It isn't long before he puts his newfound abilities to good use rescuing Catherine. But how will his transformation affect those below that he loves?
1. Chapter 1

I would like to apologize to any diehard Moonlight fans since this isn't a genuine crossover. While I am "borrowing" Joseph, Mick and Beth for this story, they do not actually appear or interact with the BATB characters except Devin.

One Man's Curse….

Chapter 1

The late-night autumn air was crisp as the hooded figure dejectedly made his way across the deserted park. Like every other night, his endless searching had been fruitless. Suddenly, he froze as the strange prickly feeling came upon him once again. His hyper sensitive ears and eyes detected nothing, but some inner sense told him there was something nearby. He could feel it out there in the darkness, waiting and watching. He stood immobile, waiting and watching as well. For a single breath, he almost felt hopeful and couldn't resist calling her name in barely a whisper. "Catherine?" The only reply, however, was gloomy silence. As before, there was nothing; not a thing moved and not a leaf stirred. After a few seconds, the strange feeling passed. After one final glance around to make sure he sure he was truly alone, he slipped into the darkened drain tunnel.

A shadow soon separated itself from the surrounding darkness and began to move swiftly back toward the city. Someone had indeed been out in the darkness watching and but he had somewhere else to be and it was only a few hours until dawn. Only a few moments later found him on a rooftop high above the city observing the top floor of a building nearby. Though he was half a block away, his supernatural senses let him see and hear everything that went on in that other place. Those same senses allowed him to do what Vincent hadn't: find Catherine.

His first instinct had been to charge in to the rescue. But if he had learned anything from what he had become it was the value of patience and planning, traits he had rarely shown in his former life. Now they were proving very useful. Several nights of careful observation had led him to discover that while Gabriel's building was a veritable fortress, it had a weakness: the roof. While the ground floor and elevators were heavily guarded, only a single man patrolled the roof to warn, no doubt, of the approach of any suspicious aircraft or helicopter. Wolfishly, he grinned. He didn't need either.

The rescue itself was almost anticlimactic. One by one, the guards fell silently. More than once he was tempted to stop and feed when his constant companion, the gnawing hunger, asserted itself. But, he refused to give in. He was on a mission. When he finally came face to face with Gabriel, he was in for a shock. He'd half expected a predator, cunning and ruthless. What he found instead was a madman so lost in his own delusions of grandeur that he failed to recognize his own death when it stared him in the face. For the first time that night he gave his hunger free reign.

At last he stood outside the locked door mentally gathering himself. The most difficult part of the last few days had been allowing her to remain locked up while he planned, but it was necessary. He knew all too well that two lives depended on his actions tonight and he would only get one chance. Slowly, he unlocked and opened the door.

Catherine was sleepy. The sedative the doctor gave her earlier to keep her quiet was taking effect. When the door opened, she groggily looked up her eyes struggling to focus. The figure in the doorway was vaguely familiar and Catherine couldn't help calling out. "Vincent?" But as the person got closer, she realized she was mistaken. Yet, the face was one she recognized.

"Sorry, Chandler. Fuzz face couldn't make it. Looks like you're stuck with me." He grinned again, his fangs almost showing.

Hazily, she blinked her eyes and her vision began to clear. "Devin?" She whispered, almost afraid to believe her own eyes.

"What do you say we blow this popsicle stand, Counselor and get you and Junior back to the Tunnels?"

"We're going home?!" Her voice was still soft in disbelief.

"Yes, Catherine. We're going home."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Six Months earlier...

"Thanks for picking me up at the airport and driving me to the cemetery, Peter."

"I was happy to do it, Devin. I had to be at the airport to see a family member of one of my patients off anyway."

"I thought you were pretty much retired now and living a life of leisure." He teased.

"Well, I've closed down my public practice but I still see a few very special patients."

"Special meaning those with secrets to keep like Catherine and Charles?" Devin smiled sadly.

"You can't blame yourself for what happened to him, Devin. As I told you on the phone, it was all very suddenly. He had a massive stroke in his sleep and simply never woke up. You made the time before he was hospitalized the happiest he'd ever had and he's at peace now. I can't imagine that Charles would want you to feel guilty because of him."

"I understand that, Peter and you're right. It's just hard to believe he's really gone. I'm grateful that you were able to take care of the funeral arrangements for me since I couldn't make it back in time."

"I was happy to do it. He was a very gentle soul."

" Yes, he was. That place you found for him was nice. I think he would have liked it."

"I'm sure he would have. So I guess Jacob and Vincent are expecting you below soon."

"Not really. I haven't had a chance to tell anyone else I was coming home but you."

"Well, I haven't had time to tell them you were here either. I was tied up all day. How about joining me for a late dinner? I was so busy I didn't have time to stop for lunch and right now I'm starving. How about a genuine New York strip? It's on me."

Devin grinned. "Sounds fantastic! After three months in the Orient I could do with something else besides rice right now."

The two friends enjoyed a pleasant meal at a little diner Peter knew that served one of the best steaks Devin had ever eaten. They had just returned to the car when Dr. Alcott received a disturbing phone call. "Hello? Oh, hello Bridget. Yes. Yes. What?! No, I haven't ordered any sort of medical equipment for Sarah. No, Bridget, no one should be delivering anything there. No, don't call the police just yet. I'm on my way to… Hello? Hello? Bridget?!"

After a second, he hung up the phone but Devin could tell by his anxious expression something was drastically amiss. He had known Peter Alcott for nearly thirty years, yet he had never seen his friend so shaken. "Everything ok, Peter?"

"Of course. Just a minor mix up, I'm sure." His voice was cheerful, but Devin didn't need Vincent's empathic skills to know he was lying. It was written all over the doctor's face.

He was soon picking up the phone again. "Hello, this is Dr. Peter Alcott. I need to speak to Mr. Kostan. Has his plane taken off yet? Well, can you at least get a message to him? Tell him there may be a problem at Ms. Whitley's residence and I'm on my way there now. No, nothing else. He'll understand."

"Sorry to have to leave you like this but it looks like we're going to have to cut this visit short. I've got a patient I need to see immediately. I'm sure you'll understand if I have to let you find your own way from here."

Under other circumstances, he would have taken Peter at his word and merely gone on his way but every instinct he possessed was screaming that something was very wrong with his friend.

"No, I'm going with you." He hadn't even finished the sentence before the other man protested.

"Devin, you can't! This doesn't concern you!"

"Bull! Next to Pop, you are the most unshakable man I know but something has got you rattled. That means it has to be serious, maybe even dangerous. Whatever it is, I'm not letting you face it by yourself."

Concern and fear warred with hope but the hope eventually won out as his expression and shoulders relaxed a little. "All right, you can come. But I want you to stay in the car. It may be nothing and I refuse to involve you unless I absolutely have to."

As they drove to their destination, Devin felt compelled to ask the obvious. "So I'm guessing that since you haven't phoned the police that this patient of yours is someone out of the ordinary like Vincent maybe?"

"That is an understatement, Devin. Compared to Sarah, Vincent is practically mundane."

Without much delay, they pulled up to a nondescript brownstone on a secluded street. The building was eerily dark. Devin started to open his door but his companion stopped him. "Stay here, please. This all may just be a misunderstanding or a false alarm and Jacob would never let me hear the end of it if you were hurt on some wild goose chase." Peter instructed as he scribbled something down. "If I'm not back in five minutes, call this number and ask to speak to Josef Kostan, no one else. Tell him Sarah is in danger. He'll know what to do."

He stayed but only out of respect. He decided, however, that too much could go wrong in five minutes. His companion had barely left the car when he picked up the phone.

"Hello? I'm calling on behalf of Dr. Peter Alcott. I need to speak to Josef Kostan; it's an emergency. He isn't? When do you expect him back? No, no message." He hung up the phone, unsure what to do next. He considered calling the police, but decided against it since he didn't know what was truly going on. Realizing he had no other alternative, he looked around the vehicle for something useful. Inside the black physician's bag, he found a flashlight. He hesitated and then slipped the small scalpel next to it into his bomber jacket pocket. Thus equipped, he made his way to the front door.

Devin was barely inside when he found the prone form of his friend alongside that of a woman dressed in a nurse's uniform. She was dead, her neck cocked at a strange angle. A quick check told him Peter were alive but obviously unconscious. He was about to grab Peter and retreat to safety outside when a shrill voice froze him place.

"You might as well come in and join the fun. It's not like you'll live much longer anyway. The only reason that one is still alive is because I'll need a snack later on." Against his better judgment, he continued inside as he moved to see who was speaking.

Ahead behind a half closed door, he could just discern what appeared to be a bedroom. By the faint light of the glowing medical equipment he saw a woman lying in a large bed with a dark shadow looming over her.

"How like Josef to use human lackeys to protect his secrets. But then, he always was a hypocrite, preaching rules and laws and all the while hiding his own mistakes." Devin couldn't tell whether the figure was addressing him or someone else not that it seemed to care.

"Once I've finished doing away with Josef's pet here, I think I'll pay a little visit to that blonde freshie his friend Mick St. John is so fond of. What better way for him to learn that I'm not someone to be trifled with so easily!"

The figure moved and for the first time, Devin could make out the slim form of a woman. But, just as he tried to sneak closer she turned and his blood froze in his veins. Anyone who had ever called Vincent a monster would have instantly revised their opinion after seeing the thing in front of him. While she might have the shape of a human, her appearance was the stuff of nightmares. Red rimmed, unnaturally pale eyes stared coldly out of a grotesquely, scarred face and neck that looked like they came from a horror movie. The twisted parody of a mouth had a pair of protruding fangs that flashed as she mockingly hissed at him.

"Hello, dearie. I'm Lola. How about a little kiss?" Without any more warning, the creature leaped on him. He had barely managed to raise the razor sharp scalpel in defense when the equally sharp fangs began to tear into his throat as an oppressive weight knocked him onto the bed. Realizing at once that he was literally fighting for his life, he began wildly slashing any part of the creature that he could reach. As he felt his strength slowly begin to fade, the weight was suddenly lifted and the pain in his neck eased. The last thing he saw as the blackness overwhelmed him was the strange creature flying backwards, propelled by someone or something his fading vision could no longer see. Blood poured profusely from his numerous wounds and he felt his life slipping away.

Devin's salvation arrived in the form of the elusive Mr. Kostan and his friend Mick St. John. The two male vampires immediately launched a combined attack on the "Lola" creature. The three of them jumped, flew and crashed around the room in a fang flashing tangle hissing and snarling as they bit and scratched each other. Occasionally one sent another smashing into a wall or various furniture pieces resulting in extensive damage and copious amounts of vampire blood flying in all directions. At last Josef managed to get the upper hand and held her long enough for Mick to finish her off.

When the dust finally setted, Lola was missing her head and Devin along with the unconscious patient were liberally coated with the red liquid.

"Damn, Lola always was tough. I've definitely seen her looking better though. I can't believe she tried to come after Sarah." Josef remarked when the fight ended.

"I can't believe she survived the silver and the fire."

"Well, I warned she was resourceful. I'm just surprised you were able to trap her like that. How did you manage it?"

"Superior fighting skills?" Mick quipped.

A derisive snort told him his friend's opinion of that idea. "More likely beginner's luck!" In truth, he wasn't too far off the mark. Only Lola's previous egotistic arrogance had blinded her to Mick's hastily planned trap until it was too late.

"In the future, remind me to never date another vampire older than I am! It never ends well." Josef observed as he went to Sarah and began to tenderly wipe the blood from her face. "Did you have to cut off her head right over Sarah's bed? Look at this mess!"

"Well, excuse me! The next time we fight one of your ex-girlfriends, I'll let her stake you instead of ruining the furniture." Mick shot back acerbically.

Looking around, though, Mick understood why Josef was irritated. The area around the bed and Sarah herself looked like they'd been doused in red paint. The murderous Lola, Mick, and Josef had all contributed to it. Even the unconscious Sarah had not escaped injury, bleeding from several small cuts she'd gotten from flying debris. Almost as an afterthought Mick bent down to check on the young man on the floor who'd been attacked earlier. His casual attitude rapidly disappeared when he noticed that some of the blood had dripped from the bed and was now falling directly onto his face. Frowning, he stood up to speak to the other vampire.

"Uhh, we may have a problem." Mick looked over and his eyebrows rose when he saw the stunned expression on his friend's face. Following his gaze, he looked down and he too was stunned as Sarah's eyes began to flutter just as a weak feminine whisper broke the silence. "Josef?"

When Devin awoke again, his senses were instantly assaulted by an overwhelming barrage of smells and sounds. It took a few seconds but his head began to clear and he sat up, opening his eyes. The room was still dark, yet he realized he could see perfectly. Almost simultaneously, he was hit with the worst thirst he'd ever experienced.

"Easy, you're going to be okay." A calm voice said next to him. "Here, take this. You're going to need it." The person behind the voice handed him a plastic container of red liquid. A small part of Devin's mind recognized the substance as blood and balked, but a ravenous more primitive side rose up and he greedily emptied the bag. Two more quickly followed.

While he was drinking, the voice spoke again, this time into the phone. "I need a cleanup at a residential address. No, there's no rush. The place is owned by one of us. In fact, give us a couple of hours. We still have some loose ends to tie up." He remarked as he looked over at his current problem.

Devin didn't know it, but as his hunger began to subside his eyes returned to normal and his fangs disappeared. Another man soon came over and helped Devin to his feet. He was young, perhaps thirty and casually dressed in a jacket and jeans.

"I know this is all pretty confusing but I promise it will be all right."

A moment later, a taller thinner man far more fashionably dressed came down the stairs to join them. "Well, how's Junior doing? Did you find out which one of us has the dubious honor?"

"Not really. How's Sarah?"

"Resting for the moment. I don't want to leave her alone too long. What do you mean not really?"

"I've tried to figure it out but there's just been too much mingling to sort it out. I could have been any one of the four of us."

"Four, Mick?!" The tall man didn't seem to like that information.

"I'm afraid so, Josef. Sarah's blood is mixed in with all the rest. Even she could be his sire."

"Sire? Blood? What the hell are you people talking about? Look, my name is Devin Wells and I came here with my friend, Peter Alcott to check on a patient of his. I think we were attacked or something. Oh my god! Peter! I forgot about him. He was on the ground, hurt."

The taller man turned to the other. "Yes, where is dear Peter? You didn't do anything foolish, did you? He's always been one of the few humans I actually like enough not to ever consider feeding from, next to Beth of course!"

The other one grinned. "You don't have to worry. There's an all-night clinic a few miles from here. I left him in the parking lot next to his car. He'll be fine."

"Look, I don't know what this is all about, but I need to leave." Devin said cautiously as he headed for the door.

The two continued as if he hadn't spoken. "So looks like one of us will be babysitting for the next few months. How do you want to handle this, Mick? Flip a coin? Draw straws? Arm wrestle?"

Mick looked decidedly uncomfortable while his companion merely sighed. "Don't tell me. Let me guess. It's Beth, isn't it? You're afraid of how she'll react."

"Look, Josef, things are going really well for us. I know you'll have your hands full with Sarah just waking up, but can't you help me out here?"

Josef sighed again. "Oh, all right. I suppose I can take him along. I might need someone to carry the luggage for us.I promised her before I turned her I'd take her to Egypt to see the pyramids."

All the while they were speaking Devin had been growing more irritated and soon lost his temper. "You two are insane! I'm not going anywhere with you!" Angrily, he turned and stormed outside.

He'd barely gone two steps when an iron grip seized his shoulder. "You can't leave."

"Of course I can!"

"No you can't. It's not that simple. You're not human anymore."

"Not human?! What the… " His voice trailed off as the person calling himself Mick suddenly transformed. In a split second, his eyes changed, becoming distinctly inhuman just as two fangs appeared in his mouth. "What are you?!"

"I'm a vampire. Now so are you."

Aothor's note: I apologize that this chapter took so long. Unfortunately, one of the main charaters refused to cooperate. (Yep, you guessed it! It was Devin!) Evidently, he was unhappy about being cast as a vampire of the "Forever knight" kind. According to him, that notion of a vampire is outdated and he feels the whole No holy water/crosses thing unfairly portrays vampires as being inherently evil or "unholy". He considers it discrimination. Therefore you may notice I have done something unpresidented and changed the first few lines of chapter 1 to reflect that this story is concerning the series "Moonlight". I wouldn't do it, but Devin threatened to tell Father on me and that is one lecture I'd rather avoid!


End file.
